This movie is more than an island of questions.

Rating: 8/10 (25 July 2005)

For once, I was glad that I randomly picked a movie at the spur of the moment.
I was at the cinema with one of my best friends and three other Chinese friends. The task of picking a movie was assigned to me. But seeing that I haven't been catching up with movies listing for nearly 6 weeks, I found it a tough job. Summer really was deprived of attention-grabbing movie titles. My Chinese friends were turned off by the title of this flick itself, The Island. I mean, seriously, who would want to watch a movie called 'The Island', especially when they have no idea what is it all about in the first place? If it wasn't for the brief printed summary at the counter, I would not have given this movie a second glance. Like War of The Worlds, its poster was not self-explanatory. Plus, I did not watch the trailer prior to my trip to the cinema.
BUT, unlike War of The Worlds (or any other movies before this), for once I did not question the logic of the flow of the storyline. The storyline was good enough for me to not stop focusing and start being a cynic. At the very least, questions that the average viewer might ask about the plot are answered. It was 100% NOT boring and the plot holes in this movie was subtle because of the relatively fast pace of the story growth. In fact, though I had only watched it once, I don't remember any noticeable loop holes in the storyline. Or questionable action scenes for that matter. I didn't cared if there were futuristic technologies in the movie. After all, the whole thing took place in the future. It was nice that it blended in with the contemporary definitions of the current world, all so that everything seemed viably realistic.
Now, there is humor here and there, blended in nicely with action and drama. Noticeable humor genres are satire, sarcasm and banter. The director, Micheal Bay, cleverly played with "human" innocence in the movie. The whole innocence thing somehow reminded me of how complex our minds have made today to be. How open the minds of those "humans" are to different ideas, compared to many of us in reality. Lincoln Six Echo questioned, and that was what made the difference. That manner reminded me of Dead Poets Society, another good movie.
Needless to say, Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson complemented each other well. This is the first time I watched Johansson in action, and I must say, her character development as Jordan Two Delta was good. It was more noticeable than McGregor's part. Lincoln Six Echo was depicted as a skeptic to start with, whereas Jordan Two Delta was very innocent. On the other hand, I was quite surprised that McGregor took up this role as I was quite brainwashed with his role as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars and Catcher Block in Down With Love. After all, Lincoln Six Echo is more of a character of innocence, curiosity, and mischief, just like a confused child. Nevertheless, it was a refreshing brilliant performance of McGregor.
If I were to complain about anything at all, it would be that I didn't manage to buy popcorn because of the long line at the food counter. I don't think people who are just looking for entertainment with depth would complain about this movie.
In conclusion, I definitely want to watch this again.